MIAMI — The Marlins on Sunday morning placed left-hander Jesús Luzardo on the 15-day injured list with a left forearm strain (retroactive to May 12). Luzardo, who has backed off from throwing for now, said the club decided to make the move before it could turn into anything worse.
“Just started feeling a little something in the San Diego game [on May 5] towards the back end of it, but nothing when I was pitching or anything like that,” Luzardo said. “It was more of a little soreness. Kind of backed off a little between my starts and pitched through [everything]. There wasn’t really any pain or anything — it was more of just stiffness. We didn’t think anything of it. [In] Arizona [on Tuesday], kind of same thing, didn’t really feel anything when I was pitching. It was after it was kind of sore, tough to bounce back. So we just wanted to be smart and get on top of it and just stop it there and get it back to 100 percent so we can keep going.”
Until this point, Miami had avoided an injury to its rotation, which entered Sunday’s series finale against the Brewers with the ninth-lowest ERA (3.46) in the Majors. Through six starts, Luzardo had posted a 4.03 ERA, a 3.74 FIP and a 1.17 WHIP. His season totals were skewed by Tuesday’s start against the D-backs, when he gave up four runs on two hits and four walks with six strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings.
According to Statcast, the 24-year-old Luzardo ranks in the 93rd percentile in average fastball velocity (96.9 mph), 92nd percentile in K% (34.5) and 90th percentile in whiff% (34.4).
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Luzardo said. “I got off to a good start and kind of got on a roll. But at the same time, it’s so early in the year, we have so much time, that I feel like I [would] rather get this under control and then be back to 100 percent soon, hopefully. However long it takes, compared to something getting worse and kind of snowballing into something longer.”
Right-hander Cody Poteet will start in Luzardo’s place in Monday’s series opener against the Nationals. He has worked in long relief so far this season, allowing just one run in 16 1/3 innings across eight outings. The 27-year-old rookie opened his MLB career with seven starts in 2021, cruising through the first three (1.06 ERA) before a right knee sprain affected him over his final four and ultimately cut his season short. Should Luzardo be out for the minimum 15 days, he would miss just two turns through the rotation.
In the early going, Marlins fans have been clamoring for Max Meyer (MLB Pipeline’s No. 33 overall prospect). The 23-year-old righty has a 2.97 ERA through seven starts at Triple-A Jacksonville this season. In his most recent outing on Thursday, Meyer surrendered six runs, including three homers, over five innings.
Rather than bring up a pitcher, Miami recalled first baseman Lewin Díaz as the corresponding roster move. With first baseman/designated hitter Garrett Cooper fouling a pitch off his left knee during Saturday night’s 9-3 victory and later exiting the game, the Marlins needed another position player as insurance. Miami is already fielding a three-man bench, with utility player Jon Berti and infielder Joey Wendle on the injured list.